Head of Product & Engineering Operations

Fundingcircle; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Barista coffee

Subsidised lunches

Flexible work policy

Parental leave

Job summary

Funding Circle is transforming how small UK businesses access funding through a data-driven fintech platform. As Head of Product & Engineering Operations, you will design, install, and run the engine across product, engineering and design to unify and accelerate the build process.

You will lead product, design and engineering leaders, driving an operating model that the CTO endorses, with hands-on piloting and scalable habits.

Qualifications

• Strong experience leading product, engineering and design teams.
• Experience using AI to enhance product development and workflows.
• Ability to hold senior leaders accountable for continuous improvement.
• Understanding of working in regulated environments is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Establish and run core builders leadership rituals and go/no-go release gates.
• Partner with VP Product, VP Engineering, and Design Leadership to raise the bar on how we build.
• Pilot new frameworks and scale them across squads.
• Embed AI-driven build tools across product, engineering and design lifecycles.
• Lead cross-functional leadership meetings to improve product delivery at Funding Circle.
• Integrate regulatory and compliance checks into the core delivery path.

Skills

Product management

Engineering

Design

AI in product development

Leadership

Tools

Claude Code

Codex

Job description

We’re on a mission to back the UK’s small businesses like no one else. Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and we’re here to help them win. We’ve built a platform that uses clever data to get them the funding they need in minutes, not weeks.

At Funding Circle, we have the restless energy of a fintech start-up with the stability of a public company. It’s a unique mix that gives Circlers the autonomy to take ownership and the scale to make an impact that truly counts.

We’re a high-performing team that chooses to lift each other up. We challenge, we champion, and we have each other’s backs - because we know that when we stand together, we move faster and build better.

The impact is real: Last year alone, the businesses on our platform generated £7.2bn for the UK economy. Come and join a mission that matters!

The role London (Hybrid) | 3 days in the office | Competitive Salary + Benefits

As our Head of Product & Engineering Operations, you will design, install, and run the engine across product, engineering, and design. You will help us find a better way by transforming our work into one unified, high-performing build process.

This role owns the ‘how’ we build. You install the operating model across product, engineering and design, and drive product, design and engineering leaders to run it. You have real influence with the CTO down.

You’ll work closely with product, engineering and design teams, and make the operating model work in practice. You’ll be the executive operator on the AI-native lifecycle programme already in motion, turning it from an initiative into the default way our teams build.

You know what great looks like because you’ve done it. You could build the product, but would prefer to build the team who build the product.

As our Head of Product & Engineering Operations, you’ll:

• Establish and run core builders leadership rituals, cross-line product reviews, calibration sessions, and go/no-go release gates.
• Partner directly with stakeholders across all three disciplines, such as our VP Product, VP Engineering, and Design Leadership, to raise the bar on what and how we build.
• Take small steps fast through hands-on piloting of new frameworks, running early iterations personally before handing them off to squad leads and ensuring they become permanent habits.
• Embed AI-driven build tools and automated workflows across all three functions to modernise our Product development lifecycle and processes.
• Convene the Product, Design and Engineering leadership team to ensure continuous improvement of how we build great products at Funding Circle.
• Integrate regulatory and compliance checks seamlessly into the core delivery path without slowing down shipment cycles.

What we’re looking for

• Strong experience in Product Management, Engineering, and Design, with the credibility to challenge leadership and bring teams together across all three disciplines.
• The ability to take ownership of redesigning departmental workflows, and being up to date on how to use AI to build great products. You’ve built with Claude Code, Codex, or similar, and you’re excited about helping a whole organisation to build that way.
• Confidence and credibility to hold MDs, VPs, and senior directors accountable to continuous improvements in how we build.
• An understanding and of working within regulated environment and the complexities involved. It’s a bonus if you’ve worked alongside Risk and Compliance.

Skills we'd love to see

• Evidence of having installed an operating model at a comparable inflection point.
• Product thinking and design sensibility.
• Deep fluency in how modern software teams build, combined with a ‘builder’ background.

We’re building a place where everyone truly feels they belong. Even if your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we'd still love to hear from you.

Why join us? We back you to build an incredible career and by joining us, you'll be part of one of The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2026! As a flexible-first employer, we use a "best of both" approach. We’ll see you in our London office to collaborate – with barista coffee and subsidised Just Eat lunches on us!

Our Circler Proposition focuses on five areas:

• Flexibility: We provide a benefit allowance you can tailor to your own life and family.
• Health: This includes private medical and dental, health assessments, and access to a digital GP.
• Wealth: We offer life assurance, share schemes, and financial coaching.
• Development: You get a dedicated annual learning allowance to help you level up.
• Lifestyle: We have electric car and cycle-to-work schemes, plus season ticket loans.

We also have award-winning parental leave policies. We're here to support you through the big life moments, from fertility treatments to new additions to the family.